Until recently, employees who had to work from home could get tax relief on up to £6 a week of extra household costs. The £6 was the amount of expenses that qualified for relief, not the money you got back: a basic-rate taxpayer saved £1.20 a week. If you never claimed, you may be wondering whether it’s too late. The short answer: you can’t claim a home working tax rebate for the current tax year, but money may still be waiting for earlier years if your employer required you to work from home. This guide shows which years are still open, how much you could get back and how to claim it yourself.
- No claim is possible for the 2026/27 tax year onwards.
- Four earlier tax years are still open, but only if home working was required, not chosen.
- At the £6 flat rate, the rebate is £62.40 a year for a basic-rate taxpayer and £124.80 for a higher-rate taxpayer.
- Self Assessment filers must claim through their return, or by writing to HMRC once the amendment window has closed.
- Claiming directly through GOV.UK is free; refund companies take a cut.
Can You Still Get a Home Working Tax Rebate?
Yes, but only for past years. In the November 2025 Budget, the Government announced that employees would no longer be able to claim tax relief from HMRC for extra household costs that their employer doesn’t reimburse. According to the GOV.UK policy paper, the change took effect on 6 April 2026 through a new section 360B of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. It removed both the £6-a-week flat rate and claims for exact costs, and HMRC estimated it would affect about 300,000 people.
The change doesn’t wipe out earlier years. GOV.UK’s working from home guidance confirms there is no relief for 2026/27, but that you can still claim for the previous four tax years.
| Up to 5 April 2026 | From 6 April 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Employee claims to HMRC | Allowed if home working was required | Not allowed |
| £6-a-week flat rate | Available | Removed for employee claims |
| Claims for earlier years | Up to 4 years back | Still possible for 2022/23 to 2025/26 |
| Employer paying up to £6 a week tax-free | Allowed | Still allowed |
The wider rules that applied during the pandemic, covering 2020/21 and 2021/22, are no longer relevant because the time limit for those years has passed.
Who Qualifies: Required, Not Chosen
This is where many claims fail. You can only claim if you had to work from home. GOV.UK gives examples of each side of the line:
| You may qualify if | You can’t claim if |
|---|---|
| Your job required you to live far away from your employer’s office | Your contract simply allowed you to work from home some or all of the time |
| Your employer didn’t have an office for you to use | Your employer had an office, but you sometimes couldn’t go because it was full |
You can’t claim just because your employer allows you to work from home. If you could have worked at your employer’s office but chose to work at home, you won’t normally qualify. This is the key test for hybrid workers: only home working that was required counts.
If your employer paid some of your costs
If your employer paid you back in full, there’s nothing to claim. If it reimbursed only part of your qualifying extra costs, you may be able to claim relief on the eligible balance you paid yourself, according to GOV.UK’s job expenses guidance. You can’t get relief twice on the same cost, so keep records of both your extra costs and anything your employer paid you.
How Much Is a Home Working Tax Rebate Worth?
The rebate isn’t the full £6 a week. HMRC gives relief at your Income Tax rate, so £6 a week saves a basic-rate taxpayer £1.20 a week. Over a full year, the flat rate is £312 of expenses, which works out as follows:
| Your tax rate | Rebate for one year | Rebate for all 4 open years |
|---|---|---|
| Basic rate (20%) | £62.40 | £249.60 |
| Higher rate (40%) | £124.80 | £499.20 |
| Additional rate (45%) | £140.40 | £561.60 |
These are illustrative figures using Income Tax rates of 20%, 40% and 45%. They assume you were required to work from home for the whole year and received nothing from your employer towards the costs. Your actual saving depends on your Income Tax rate in the tax year concerned. Scottish taxpayers have different rates, so their relief may differ. If you only qualified for part of a year, the figure is reduced in proportion.
If you only qualified for part of a year
Tom’s employer closed his office on 1 October 2023 and told staff to work from home until 5 April 2024, a period of about 27 weeks. Tom is a basic-rate taxpayer.
- Expenses: 27 weeks × £6 = £162
- Rebate: £162 × 20% = £32.40
- Deadline for 2023/24: 5 April 2028
This example assumes Tom was required to work from home for all 27 weeks, received nothing from his employer towards the costs and qualified for the full £6 weekly flat rate throughout. When you claim, give the dates you were required to work from home so HMRC can see why the figure covers less than a full year.
Claiming exact costs instead
Instead of the flat rate, you can claim the extra household costs that arise because you have to work from home, such as additional heating and lighting or business phone calls. You’ll need bills or receipts. Ordinary household costs that would be the same whether or not you worked from home can’t normally be claimed, including rent, mortgage interest, council tax and water rates. An existing broadband subscription is also normally left out, because it isn’t an extra cost. HMRC lists these in EIM01474 and EIM01475. For most people, the flat rate is simpler.
Leah is a higher-rate taxpayer. Her employer closed its local office in 2022, and she was required to work from home for all of 2022/23 and 2023/24. Her employer didn’t pay her anything towards household costs.
| Tax year | Expenses at £6 a week | Rebate at 40% | Claim by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | £312 | £124.80 | 5 April 2027 |
| 2023/24 | £312 | £124.80 | 5 April 2028 |
| Total | £624 | £249.60 |
If Leah waits until after 5 April 2027, she loses the 2022/23 part of her home working tax rebate.
Which Years Can You Still Claim? Deadlines
HMRC’s general time limit lets you claim back overpaid tax within four years of the end of the tax year concerned, as set out in SACM12155. For working from home relief, the open years are:
| Tax year | Ran from | Last date to claim |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6 April 2022 to 5 April 2023 | 5 April 2027 |
| 2023/24 | 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024 | 5 April 2028 |
| 2024/25 | 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025 | 5 April 2029 |
| 2025/26 | 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026 | 5 April 2030 |
From 2022/23 onwards, GOV.UK says you must send evidence that you had to work from home, even when you use the £6 flat rate.
If you have missed a deadline
Once the four-year limit for a tax year has passed, HMRC can’t accept a new claim for that year, whatever the reason. That is why claims for 2020/21 and 2021/22 are now closed. Diarise each remaining date so the next one doesn’t slip past.
How to Claim a Home Working Tax Rebate for Past Years
The route depends on whether you complete a Self Assessment tax return.
If you don’t file Self Assessment
Most employees taxed only through PAYE can use HMRC’s online service for job expenses, linked from the GOV.UK working from home page. If you can’t use the online service, you can claim by post on form P87, as explained in HMRC’s guidance on claiming job expenses by post. Have your employer’s details, the years you’re claiming for and your evidence ready before you start.
If you file Self Assessment
GOV.UK says that if you complete a tax return, you must claim through the return rather than the online service. How you do that depends on the year:
| Tax year | Normal amendment deadline | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 31 January 2025 (passed) | Overpayment relief, if eligible |
| 2023/24 | 31 January 2026 (passed) | Overpayment relief, if eligible |
| 2024/25 | 31 January 2027 | Amend your return |
| 2025/26 | Return due 31 January 2027 | Include the claim in your return |
These are the normal Self Assessment amendment deadlines. If you haven’t yet filed a return for a year, or your circumstances are unusual, check HMRC’s rules before choosing a route. Overpayment relief has its own limit: four years from the end of the tax year concerned. GOV.UK explains both routes on its page about changing your return.
- A statement that you are claiming overpayment relief
- The tax year concerned
- Why you believe you paid too much tax
- How much you think you overpaid
- Whether you have already appealed against the same payment
- A declaration that the details are correct and complete to the best of your information and belief, signed by you. A tax agent can’t sign it on your behalf.
HMRC says it will reject a claim that is missing any of this information or the signed declaration.
How the rebate is paid
For earlier tax years, HMRC may either adjust your tax code or send you a refund, according to its job expenses guidance. Make sure HMRC has your current address, and if you claim online, follow the instructions on how you’d like to be repaid.
Claiming several years at once
You can claim more than one year, but each year is assessed separately. List the dates you were required to work from home in each year, and keep the evidence for each period apart. If one year doesn’t qualify, that shouldn’t hold up the others.
Common reasons claims are rejected
| Reason | How to avoid it |
|---|---|
| Home working was a choice | Check the required-not-chosen test before you claim. |
| No evidence of the requirement | Get written confirmation from your employer. |
| Employer already paid you | Check your payslips for a homeworking allowance. |
| Claiming shared costs | Leave out rent, broadband and council tax. |
| Wrong route | Self Assessment filers must use the return or an overpayment relief letter. |
Evidence to Keep
Because claims since 2022/23 need proof that home working was required, gather your evidence before you claim:
- A letter or email from your employer confirming you were required to work from home, and for which period
- Your contract or homeworking policy, if it shows home working was compulsory rather than optional
- Evidence that no office was available, such as a closure notice
- Payslips showing whether you received any homeworking allowance
- Bills or receipts, if you’re claiming exact costs rather than the flat rate
Keep copies for at least as long as HMRC could check the claim. If HMRC later decides you didn’t qualify, it can ask for the rebate back.
Should You Use a Tax Refund Company?
HMRC’s claiming expenses campaign says claiming directly through GOV.UK is free. If you use a company, it may charge a fee or take a share of your rebate. You stay responsible for any claim made in your name, and if a claim turns out to be invalid, you may have to repay it, including any commission the company has already kept.
A home working tax rebate is a fixed, modest sum, so paying a share of it to a third party rarely makes sense. If you choose to use one, check its fees in writing and read anything it submits on your behalf.
What You Can Still Get From 2026/27
Although you can no longer claim from HMRC yourself, your employer can still help:
Employer payments are separate from employee relief
The end of employee tax relief doesn’t stop employers reimbursing eligible homeworking costs. HMRC’s EIM32759 confirms that the employer exemption still applies. Where you regularly work from home under an arrangement with your employer, it can generally pay you up to £6 a week tax-free without evidence of the exact cost. Larger payments can also be tax-free if the employer can show they don’t exceed your reasonable additional household costs, as set out in EIM01476 and EIM01472.
Homeworking equipment
From 6 April 2026, employers can also reimburse certain qualifying homeworking equipment without an Income Tax or National Insurance charge, where the conditions are met. According to the workplace benefits relief policy paper, this treats reimbursement the same way as equipment the employer provides directly. It may cover items you need to do your job, such as a laptop or computer equipment, but it doesn’t automatically cover everything bought for a home office. Check with your employer before you buy.
Self-employed people
The April 2026 change only affects employees. Self-employed people follow separate business expense rules, which can include simplified flat rates based on hours worked at home or a share of actual costs. These are a different system from the employee £6 weekly rate, so the two shouldn’t be mixed up. Our guide to self-employed business expenses covers the self-employed rules.
For a fuller look at employer payments and the wider relief rules, our sister site Eternity Accountants has a guide to working from home tax relief. If you also wear a uniform for work, our article on the uniform tax rebate explains a separate claim.
Myths vs Facts
| Myth | Fact |
|---|---|
| The £6 weekly amount is the refund I receive. | £6 is the weekly expense amount that relief is worked out on. |
| I can still claim for this tax year. | There is no relief for 2026/27. |
| Anyone who worked from home qualifies. | Only people required to work from home qualify. |
| I can claim my rent or broadband. | Rent and an existing broadband contract don’t count, because they aren’t extra costs. |
| Refund companies get a bigger rebate. | The rebate is set by the rules; companies just take a share. |
| All the deadlines have passed. | 2022/23 to 2025/26 are open until 5 April 2027 to 2030. |
Home Working Tax Rebate FAQs
Can I claim a home working tax rebate for 2026/27?
No. Tax relief for employees’ unreimbursed homeworking costs ended on 6 April 2026, so no claim is possible for 2026/27 onwards.
How far back can I claim?
You can claim for the four previous tax years, which are currently 2022/23 to 2025/26, as long as your employer required you to work from home.
How much will I get back?
At the £6-a-week flat rate, the rebate is £62.40 a year at the basic rate, £124.80 at the higher rate and £140.40 at the additional rate, if you qualified for the whole year.
What is the deadline for 2022/23?
A claim for 2022/23 must be made by 5 April 2027.
Do I need evidence?
Yes. From 2022/23 onwards, you must provide evidence that you had to work from home, plus receipts if you claim exact costs.
Can hybrid workers claim?
Only for home working that was required. If you could have gone into the office but chose to work at home, those days don’t qualify.
How will HMRC pay my rebate?
For earlier years, HMRC may adjust your tax code or send you a refund.
Can my employer still pay me £6 a week?
Yes. Employers can still pay up to £6 a week tax-free under homeworking arrangements.
Is the £6 home working tax rebate a £6 cash payment?
No. £6 is the weekly flat-rate expense amount. Your actual tax saving depends on your Income Tax rate, for example £1.20 a week at 20%.
Can I claim if my employer reimbursed some of my homeworking costs?
You may be able to claim relief on qualifying extra costs you paid yourself that weren’t reimbursed, subject to the rules for the tax year concerned.
Can my employer still reimburse homeworking expenses after April 2026?
Yes. Employers can still reimburse qualifying additional homeworking costs under the tax exemption for homeworking payments.
Final Verdict
The home working tax rebate has closed for the current year, but it hasn’t closed for everyone. If your employer required you to work from home between April 2022 and April 2026, check which years you qualified for, gather proof that home working wasn’t your choice and claim directly through GOV.UK or your tax return. Start with 2022/23, because that year must be claimed by 5 April 2027.
- Work out which years between 2022/23 and 2025/26 you were required to work from home.
- Ask your employer for written confirmation of the requirement.
- Check whether you file Self Assessment, as that decides your claim route.
- Claim 2022/23 first, before 5 April 2027.